Chapter Ten: Then Let’s Run Away!
…I don’t want to.
The moment she thought of the Second Prince’s angry face, a layer of fear descended upon Evelia’s heart.
No… I can’t fail…
It was a fear that stemmed from the depths of her soul, an instinctive reaction.
She could not defy the Second Prince; she had to carry out his orders.
Only by doing so… could she create a complete “Scarlet Crow.”
Absolutely… absolutely must find a way…
No matter what, she had to deceive Alman… to complete the mission—she didn’t want to disappoint the Second Prince.
Must… must—
“By the way, you haven’t answered my earlier question.” Alman stood next to her, his tone still relaxed and cheerful. “Have you considered running away?”
“…No.”
Evelia felt that Alman’s words seemed to carry deeper meaning, but her suddenly chaotic mind didn’t respond in time.
To avoid revealing too much, she replied with her usual cold tone, but compared to her earlier composure, her eyes seemed much dimmer, even showing a hint of panic she desperately tried to hide.
“Is it that you don’t want to run? Can’t run? Or—afraid to run?”
He intentionally prolonged the last word, as if he knew the deepest fear in Evelia’s heart.
“There’s no need to run, Mr. Alman. I don’t have anything to run from.”
But Evelia chose to ignore him because she was the “Scarlet Crow” of Nightingale House, the most loyal subordinate of the Second Prince.
—My existence is merely to complete the Second Prince’s tasks.
Yes… no need to run away…
I—simply cannot leave—
My life, my being, my soul, all belong to…
“I see… then—”
Alman seemed to ponder, as if he had more to say, but a silver-haired man holding a wine glass approached, interrupting him.
“Alman, what are you hiding over here for?”
It was a handsome man with long silver hair tied high in a ponytail, his eyes a greenish-blue that resembled the sea and sky. Despite holding two wine glasses, he had no scent of alcohol on him. From his uniform, he appeared to be one of the higher-ranking knights, and Evelia recognized him from the badge on his chest.
This was the Deputy Commander of the Royal Knight Order, only ranked below Alman but possessing a completely different calm demeanor.
“Ah, I’m just here enjoying a nice night breeze.”
Facing the Deputy Commander, who was four years older than him, Alman used the same clumsy excuse as Evelia.
“Enjoying the night breeze in this cold weather?”
Knowing Alman well, Carly immediately recognized the lie.
“Isn’t the knight’s uniform resistant to freezing? If the weather gets to you like this, how would you survive a campaign in the snowy mountains?”
Although Evelia didn’t know the other knights here, she was aware of the silver-haired Deputy Commander—Carly Moore.
He was a man on par with Alman, rumored to be very close to him, but they had never campaigned together, as one always had to stay back to manage the Knight Order guarding the Royal City. So, though he held the title of Deputy Commander, he could also act as the acting Commander if necessary. If one day Alman sadly perished, he would take over as the Commander of the Knight Order.
“The brothers are waiting for you to join them for drinks, and here you are chatting with a lady.”
Carly said, glancing at Evelia. The two exchanged polite greetings, while only Alman leaned against the railing, grinning like a fool.
“Sorry, this guy has such a strange personality, he might have caused you some trouble, Miss.”
“Not at all.” Evelia replied to Carly, “I’m Mr. Alman’s personal maid, it’s part of my job.”
“I see, so you are Miss Evelia. Well, I’ll leave this guy in your care from now on.”
“That’s what I’m supposed to do.”
Their conversation was quite calm. After chatting with such a chaotic person as Alman for so long, seeing a polite and sane person like Carly made Evelia feel somewhat relieved.
“You’re not planning to make me drink, are you? Please, I’ve had quite a lot already. It’s rare to be out enjoying the breeze, don’t make me drink more.” Alman said, showing a troubled expression as he looked at the wooden wine barrel Carly was bringing over.
“Today, you’re the star, you can’t back out now. And let’s have Miss Evelia join us as well?”
“…Me?”
Evelia didn’t expect Carly to bring her along as well, momentarily taken aback.
“Evelia, you don’t like drinking, right?” Alman noticed her hesitation and saw a glimmer of hope. “You definitely don’t want to drink, and you wouldn’t drag me along to drink, right?”
Implied was that Evelia shouldn’t feel obligated to drink just because Carly suggested it. For these knights, “drinking” was merely a euphemism. Those who drink without eating would only be forced to eat the incredibly greasy big fish and meat again, which he really didn’t want to subject his stomach to; he actually had serious issues with oily foods. His subordinates, including the Deputy Commander, believed Alman just had a common stomach ailment, hardly needing to worry. Who would have thought his problems were so severe that he couldn’t even handle overly greasy foods?
“I really don’t—”
“No ‘really’ now, Evelia—don’t continue that line of thought…!” Alman interrupted, grabbing Evelia’s hand. “You said you don’t need to run away, now you do—!”
“—?!”
In the next moment, Evelia, who appeared delicate, was pulled away by Alman, and as she watched the two silhouettes quickly run off, Carly cursed quietly.
“Got it, Evelia, this is what run away means—just do what you want to do. If you don’t want to do something, then don’t care, that’s how it should be—”
Alman tugged Evelia out of the noisy bonfire party, and they ran beneath the moonlight, with the cold wind howling past.
Evelia felt Alman’s grip tighten around her hand, the warmth of his palm seeping through. She stared, somewhat dazed, at the man running in front of her, his black short hair catching color in the moonlight.
Is this running away?
Evelia matched Alman’s pace, running faster and faster.
They distanced themselves from the unpleasantly lively scenes, and the tense feeling she had when facing Alman was also thrown aside.
This is running away… avoiding what she should face.
This should be wrong, because her life had never allowed for “rebellion” or “fleeing.”
She felt she must complete the Second Prince’s task; her life was not about her own preferences, everything was to live for the Second Prince.
If the Second Prince were here, he would definitely not condone her escape. He would tell her in his own way about the consequences of fleeing too easily.
…I can’t be disobedient.
Evelia thought this way.
She once considered letting go of Alman’s hand while running, only to find his grip intensify.
What was once a cold night seemed to warm with their running.
Running away…
The Second Prince would punish her, but—at least not right now, right?
Let her evade something she detests for once; after all, all she had to face now was Alman.
Evelia’s wrist gradually loosened, and she opened her mouth, taking deep breaths of the liberating air that running brought.
Today, let’s run away.
After all, this was what Alman wanted to do, and part of her task was to please him.
Let’s do it this way today, because… this is also a part of the task.
